SCHOOL DENTAL SERVICE

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5002, 19 July 1926, Page 2

SCHOOL DENTAL SERVICE

THE PLAINS CLINIC. VISIT OF INSPECTOR. Mr R. D. Elliott, inspector of school dcr.lal clinic.;, dental hygiene branch uf the Department of Public Health, wj.- on the Hauraki Plains from Tuesday unth Friday on a tour of insofction. The school dental officer, Mr F. G, S’Ockwell, ha.l advised the department that the arrangements in connection wiith the clinic ivere not working smoothly, and Mr Elliott had been instructed to look into the matte!. He met a few of the members of the Ngatea School Committee on "Wednesday evening and expressed the opinion that the whole trouble in connection with the la.ck of co-oneratton between the various schools in the t iatment of pupils at Ngatea was due to the fact that a departmental officer had not visited the diPtllct 1-vior to the opening of the clinic for the purpose of outlining the P< '.’ey of the department. It was obvious that very few of the Plains people understood the department’s policy an.i thus, misunderstandings and dimccities of working ha.d arisen. The Hauraki Plains was ext’emely fortunate in being supplied with a highly qualified dental officer ins a of a dental nurse. Mr Stockwell was competent to do any dental operation, but'dental nurses were not qualified or permitted to do major operations, such as were required by older children than those, in the primer classes. Thus the procedure laid down by the department was that only childien in the primer classes were to e treated. The department realised that this was a source of complaint", in fact, if it did not get such complaints it was concluded that instructions were not being carried out. The scheme was still -more or less m its infancy, and a start had to be made somewhere. It was therefore provided that only primer class children should be treated. To attempt more with the limited number oIP nurses available would mean that the proper service could not be given. Not piore than 1000 children could be treated in a year by one nurse.

A clinic was established in a convenient centre and a start made oji the infants, of the nearest school. Their mouths were examined and charted, and a form was sent to par-, ents asking for their consent to th® necessary work being done. No work was done without the written consent of the parents. When the children of the first school were almost completed the nurse should visit another school, chart the mouths of the children, send out the consent forms for parents’ signatures, and advise the school committee when to send the patients in to the central clinic for treatment. Thus by the time the children of one school were complex d the children of another were ready to come forward. The nurse always went out to schools to do the chatting and the patients always came to the central clinic for treatment. Coming to the question off the treatment ot outlying schools, Mr Elliott said that the department considered that a clinic should serve a radius ctf up to 15 miles, and if it was necessary to treat children from farther out the question of establishing a sub-base was considered. . The service was not a free sei vice, any more than State education was free. Parents had to buy books, etc., for children when at school. In the dental service the Government supplied and paid the dental officer and all dental appliances and materials used, while the people provided the surgery, water, light, heat, and paid for the cleaning ahd the laundrying. For this purpose organisation was necessary. As a rule a committee was formed of representatives of the various schools in the group. The dental officer would confer with the committee, but would take no active part, as it was, not for civil servants to mix in local affairs. The order in which schools were to be treated was tci be mutually arranged, and it was a suggestion that those> schools which contributed the best to the cost of the central clinic should be given the first treatment. The order was a matter for the committee than for the dehtal officer. When the order had been settled it w'as tor the committee of the school to be treated to make arrangements for the transportation of the children. The cost of the transportation had to bei borne by the people of the district of the school treated, and they should also contribute towa-rds the cost of maintenance of the central clinic. The trouble bn the Plains was undoubtedly on account off the lack of such an explanation giving rise to misunderstandings, and the entire lack of co-operation. Much had been made of the visit of the dental officer to Kaihere and Patetonga Officially this was a mistake, though it was more apparent than real. Actually it was, advisable on account of the isolation of those places. Mr Stockwell had hot received his dental training at the department’s school but at the Otago University, and was not therefore fully conversant with the minor policy matter. 0 .. It was unfortunate that he had visited these outlying schools, and thus established a precedent.

. From investigations he had made, Mr Elliott said he could not see any reason why the children from other schools on the Plains should not visit Ngate.a. The rosids were good ahd in other districts no difficulties were be ing experienced. Anyhow, the department would not stand for any departure from its defined policy. It could not be done in other district’s where nurses, were in charge, and to break the rule for the Plains would mean breaking it for the many more deserving districts. This would entail a great loss of time and such an expenditure that the scope of the service would have to be grea.tly reduced. The policy of the department was to do the greatest good for the greatest number and undoubtedly the greatest numbers were in the large centres. In time th© service would be extended to the country districts, but as yet the policy was to centralise. If this did not prove possible

on the Plains there were other districts that would appreciate the service. \ Continuing, Mr Elliott said that he had visited Turua, and interviewed the chairman and the secretary o the school committee.. They ha raised the question of transportation. The department did not think that this difficulty was, insuperable. It looked to the people to overcome this difficulty. Tn other districts the people were co-operating and transporting the children in their own cars, or arranging (functions to pay for the transportation. The question was whether the treatment was worth having or not. When one saw the amount of defective teeth and the number of artificial teeth, the number of children regarded as dull, stupid, Or slow when the cause was leally their being slowly poisoned by the septic condition of their mouths, surely the treatment was worth having. The service had proved that 95 per cent, of the children of New Zealand had defective teeth. If parents would not make some sacrifice for then who would ? The clinic was provided and the department said that if the children were brought in for treatment it would be pleased; if not, it would be surprised and sorry. Mr Elliott dealt with the question of the care of the children on theii way to and from the clinic. He stated that it was desirable for parents to attend when their children were being treated, but failing that, the system had worked very well in othei districts of deputing the senior gir scholar of the school to accompany the children as convoy. If necessan the Ngatea school would admit ths children into the classes while wait ing for the conveyance. The whois matter was one for organisation, ans if approached in .the 'right spirit ths difficulties were not unsurmountable Concluding, Mr Elliott said tha after visiting Turua and Kerepeeh he was off opinion that the childrei from those districts would be broughi in. The dentaj officer wbuld sooi visit the schools and chart .the teeth so that parents .would know wha treatment was necessary. Possiblj there were not sufficient children ii the district to keep the officer enga'g ed all the time, and if, despite th< ’representations made, the childrei would not come in from the outlying districts the officer would be trans ferred to some other district. H< could not'be kept at Ngatea doin; nohing, but the department wishes to avoid pulling up stakes and get ting out. For the benefit of the Nga tea people he wished .to point ou that should the officer be transforret a nurse would return at regular in tervals to carry on .the work alread: done. Ngatea would become a sub base, anti the children already treat ed would continue to receivei treat ment until they passed out of school The new admissions to the schoo would receive .treatment, and in tirm all the children would be receivin; treatment. Mr Elliott said that there was : clamour from all over New Zealahi for the establishment of denta clinics, but the maximum number o nurses, that could be trained year!; was 30. If the school could turn ou two or three times this number the: could be absorbed, but with the pre sent limit of 30 the service could no be extended. Hauraki Plains had iti clinic, and it was for them to sav whether the service should be avail ed of, or rejected. It was decided that Mr Foster, sec retary of the Nga,tea School Commit tee, should write to the committee: of the other schools on the Plains ant invite them .to send representative: to a meeting to be held at Ngatea oi Saturday next at 12.30 1 p.m,